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Ielts General Training Volume 3 - Listening Practice Test 2 v9 2390
Ielts General Training Volume 3 - Listening Practice Test 2 v9 2390
Ielts General Training Volume 3 - Listening Practice Test 2 v9 2390
Volume 3
Listening Practice Test 2
HOW TO USE
You have 2 ways to access the listening audio
Example:
A A
B B
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C C
D D
A A
B B
C C
D D
A A
B B
C C
D D
A A
B B
C C
D D
Questions 5-10
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.
8
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What TV program does Tom plan to watch tonight?
10
Questions 11-17
Complete the table belows. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS
AND TWO NUMBER for each answer.
Student number: 14
Teacher’s name: 15
Student’s address: 16
Telephone: 17
Questions 18-22
Circle the appropriate letter A-D.
A English
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English
B Italian
C Spanish
D Japanese
A went home
C transferred
D graduated
A the library
B her work
D her home.
Questions 23-27
Complete the table showing the students’ opinions.
There are more words than spaces so you will not use than all.
Example
Greg drums classical
Alexandria guitar 23
Katja 24 rock
Rachel violin 25
Harry 26 opera
Emiko flute 27
Questions 28-31
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS to complete the sentences.
Questions 32-36
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS, answer the following questions.
32
33
34
35
36
Questions 37-40
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS to complete the sentences.
1 D 2 A
3 C 4 A
17 818 6074 18 B
19 C 20 B
23 classical 24 drums
25 country 26 piano
2 Answer: A
Question 2:
It is useful to identify the feature of each option
Option A: has large earphones, the most expensive $59
Option B: no outstanding feature noticed.
Option C: has small earphones
Option D: is the cheapest $17
In the recording Mary said :”I don’t think you should buy the really cheap one. $17. I
believe they give a very bad sound quality” so option B is eliminated.
Next Tom said: “I really hate the ones where you have toput the small earphones into
your ear.”, so option C is eliminated. Then Mary said :”Here’s one with big
earphones you put over your ears.” and when Tom hesitated because it was
expensive, Mary said :”It’s only $20 more than the one with the little
earphones. Take it”. So option A is correct
3 Answer: C
4 Answer: A
Question 4:
It is useful to identify the feature of each option
Option A: has s curved carry handle
Option B: has a clock and most expensive among the 4.
Option C: has a straight carry handle
Option D: has a clock and cheapest among the 4.
In the recording Tom said: “ I don’t want a clock radio”, so option B and D are
eliminated. Next he said: “ I like this radio with thecurved carry handle.”, so option
A is correct
12 Answer: Lee
Question 12:
Key word is: “my family name”
In the recording it said: “my family name is Lee, spelled L-E-E”, so the answer
accepted is Lee only, as the woman spelled her last name.
14 Answer: 002312
18 Answer: B
19 Answer: C
Question 19:
Key word: “most students’ first language”
Option A- English is incorrect when she said :”most people speak English at the
break, although sometimes the Spanish slip into their own language.” means most
of them speak English at the break, however it is not their first language
Option B - Italian is incorrect as she mention she just has one Italian friend in the
class
Option C - Spanish is correct because in the recording she said “Most of the
students in that class come from countries which speak Spanish” and she
said : “there are two Hong Kong Chinese, six Spanish speakers and one Japanese
student.”
Option D - Japanese is incorrect as she mention “one Japanese student” only.
20 Answer: B
21 Answer: D
Question 21:
Key word: “prefers”.She said “but the evening class I want is” so from here
candidates can come to a conclusion that they are going to hear the reason why she
prefers that class.
22 Answer: C
Question 22:
Key words are: “leave a message at”
in the recording she said “could you please leave a message for me at my friend
Margaret’s house” so option C “her friend’s house” is correct. Other options are
nowhere to be found.
23 Answer: classical
24 Answer: drums
Usually, the questions come in order. In other words, the speaker(s) will provide
the answer to question 23 before you will hear the answer to question 24, and so on.
However, in this section, the speaker talked about favourite instruments first, and
list out the favourite instruments of each students. Candidates can figure this out by
listening the Dr asked :”What were the favourite instruments ?” and his students
answer their favorites. In other words,in the recording, the information was mentioned
vertically while the questions in questions paper are listed horizontally. Therefore in
this test you should find the answer for Q24 before Q23. The order you shall
hear is Q24 then Q26, next is Q23, Q25, Q27.
Question 24:
Key words are: “favourite instruments” and “Katja”
As candidates listen and gather that the information forfavourite instruments is
mentioned first, they can predict that this will follow the order of students, Greg will be
mentioned first, then Alexandra. Followed is Katja, and the information after this name
should be the answer.
in the recording the student said: “Katja is like Greg. She loves to listen to
drums”.The answer drums is mentioned twice, both directly and indirectly as she said
Katja is like Greg, and his favourite instruments is drums :”Greg loves drums.”
25 Answer: country
26 Answer: piano
Question 26:
Key word: Harry
in the recording the student said: “Harry says the best instrument of them all is
the piano”
27 Answer: jazz
Question 27:
Key words are: “Emiko”
in the recording the man said “Emiko says jazz is her favourite music”. So the
answer here is jazz.
Some candidates may confused as they heard : “She also likes opera, heavy metal,
classical” and choose “classical” “heavy metal” or “opera” as an answer.However,
the man confirmed :”but jazz is the best.”
31 Answer: cultures
Question 31:
Key words are: “research ” “people of different___ perceive music differently”
The phrase “people of different” before the gap 31 indicates that this gap must be
noun in plural form.
in the recording the man said:” We still have a lot of research to do to find out
what, ah, for instance, people of different cultures hear and feel when they
listen to music.”So the answer here is cultures.
33 Answer: smoking
Question 33:
Keyword :” greatest threat”.
From the question, the answers should be a noun
In the recording the woman said: “Smoking is the worst threat to health”. So the
answer here is Smoking
Section 1
Tom: Well, here we are. There’s certainly plenty to choose from.
Mary: I’m finding it hard to know’ where to start. Would you like to look at the
answering machines? Tom: Let’s start there. I like this one.
Mary: We have a lot to buy, Tom. We can’t afford to pay $129 for an answering
machine. And we can’t afford to pay $127.50 for the dual tape answering
machine, either.
Tom: Alright. We’ll buy a cheaper one then. There’s this one for $89 or the
smaller one for Example $59.95.
Mary: I like the square shape of the smaller one. It’ll fit neatly on my desk.
Tom: And it’s the cheapest. Okay. We’ll buy that one.
Mary: I’m finding it hard to know where to start. Would you like to look at the
answering machines?
Mary: We have a lot to buy, Tom. We can’t afford to pay $129 for an answering
machine. And we can’t afford to pay $127.50 for the dual tape answering
machine, either.
Tom: Alright. We’ll buy a cheaper one then. There’s this one for $89 or the
smaller one for $59.95.
Mary: I like the square shape of the smaller one. It’ll fit neatly onto my desk.
Tom: And it’s the cheapest. Okay, we’ll buy that one.
Tom: I’d like to get a portable phone. You know, one of those cordless ones.
Tom: I think it’s a good idea. We don’t need another telephone answering
machine, so we can look for a small one.
Mary: I really like the one with the hinge in the middle.
Tom: Q1 A folding telephone! Yes, that’s a good idea. So we’ll take that one.
Mary: I know. They’re just over here. I don’t think you should buy the really
cheap one.
Mary: Ah, that’s true, but I believe they give a very bad sound quality. And
what if you want to use a cassette? It doesn’t have any space for a cassette.
Tom: You’re right. Hmm. Well, I really hate the ones where you have to put the
small earphones into your ear.
Mary: Here’s one with big earphones you put over your ears.
Mary: Q2 It’s only $20 more than the one with the little earphones. Take it!
Tom: We need one which is – ah – big enough to … Mary: But not too big. I
don’t want anything larger than 48 cm.
Tom: I really think 34 cm is too small for our room. That’s only about thirteen
and a half inches.
Mary: How would you feel about a clock radio instead of just a radio?
Tom: Q4 I don’t want a clock radio. I’m very fond of my alarm clock! But I like
this radio with the curved carry handle.
Mary: So do I. It’s a good price, too. So, now we’ve chosen an answering
machine, a cordless telephone, a radio for you to use when you go for a walk,
another radio and a television.
Mary: Okay. Q5 I’ll go to the office. I’ve got lots to do. I’ll come back later,
straight from the office.
Tom: Okay. I’d better hurry. My Q6 brother’s waiting at the house to help carry
the television in.
Mary: Good. I hope he’ll still be there when I get home – I haven’t seen your
brother for ages. No, wait, I forgot to tell you. I’ll be late home tonight. I’ve got
a meeting at 5 o’clock.
Mary: I’m not sure. Still, I should be home by eight. If I think I’ll be later than
Q7 8 o’clock I’ll call you.
Tom: Okay. It’s nice now that your office is in Q8 City Square. You don’t have
to travel very far at all.
Mary: I certainly appreciate it! Taxi drivers always know where City Square is,
too. By the way, are you going to watch People are Funny on TV tonight?
Tom: What did you say? What TV show? Oh, Q9 People are Funny? Of course I
am. I’ll tell you what happened when you get home. I need something to laugh
at – I’m going to Q10 the new office at Newtown tomorrow, and I’m not looking
forward to it.
Mary: I’d better go. Take care. I’ll see you later. Bye bye.
Section 2
May: Hello. This is May Lee speaking. This message is for Q11 Mrs Brooks, in
student affairs. Mrs Brooks, I telephoned you last week and you told me to call
back and put the details of my request to transfer on the answering machine. I
hope you can hear me easily. I have the form here and I’ll give you the
information working from the top to the bottom.
As you know, my family Q12 name is Lee, spelled L-E-E, and Q13 my first
name is May. My student number is 002312, Q14 that’s 002312. I’m
in Q15 Mr Anderson’s class – you know, he’s the one who helps out with the
football team.
The next part of the form asks for my address. I’ll give it slowly. I live
at Q16 Flat 5, 10 University Avenue – you probably know the building, it’s just
The telephone number is Q17 818 6074, and I share it with a lot of other
people so it’s often engaged. I’ll give it to you again, 818 6074 think that’s all I
have to put on this part of the form. I know you were curious about my reason
for requesting a transfer, so I’ll explain that next.
May: Now I’ll tell you why I want a transfer between classes. Mrs Brooks, I
really like my teacher and my classmates, but I find it very hard not to speak in
my own language. I just begin to think in English when the class ends, and I’m
surrounded by other people from my country so it’s natural that we all speak in
our mother tongue. I have been looking around for a class where there are very
few other people from my country so I will be forced to use English.
The best class I can find is the evening class which begins at 6 pm. Q19 Most
of the students in that class come from countries which speak Spanish, and I
can’t speak a word so I must use English. Q18 I have an Italian friend in the
class, and she tells me there are two Hong Kong Chinese, six Spanish speakers
and one Japanese student. She says most people speak English at the break,
although sometimes the Spanish slip into their own language.
I checked the class list, and Q20 two students have dropped out of the
evening class so there should be room for me. Could you please see if I can join
the class? I’m not sure what the class number is, but the evening class I want is
in Room 305 of the Trotter Building Q21 . The class I’m in now is next door to
the Trotter building in Prince Tower, so it’s very easy for me to find my way to
the new class.
I’m not going home until late today, so could you please leave a message for
me at Q22 my friend Margaret’s house? Her number is 812 7543, and she has
an answering machine.
I do hope you can transfer me, Mrs Brooks. If there Is any more information you
need please call me. Thank you very much dropped the course
Section 3
Dr Lester: Hm. I’m not surprised. What were the favourite instruments?
Alexandra: Well, Greg loves drums. He told me he played drums when he was
at primary school, and now he plays drums with his friends at weekends. They
have a band.
Alexandra: Q24 Katja is like Greg. She loves to listen to drums. She says she’s
not a player, just a listener. Rachel, as you know, is a violinist, so of course it’s
natural that she should favour the violin.
Dr Lester: Hm. So we have two people who love the sound of the drum and two
who like strings – ah, the violin for Rachel and the guitar for Alex. What does
Harry like?
Alexandra: Q26 Harry says the best instrument of them all is the piano. He
claims it’s more versatile than any other instrument. Emiko plays the piano, but
her favourite instrument is the flute.
Dr Lester: Hm. Thank you, Alexandra. Ah, Greg, will you tell us the students’
favourite style of music?
Greg: We’re really very conservative. Q23 My favourite is classical music, and
that’s Alexandra’s choice too. Katja claims to like rock.
Dr Lester: So that’s a vote from Greg, Alexandra and Katja. Doesn’t Rachel
prefer classical music?
Greg: Rachel made a choice which surprised me. She plays the violin, so I
expected classical or opera, but Q25 Rachel says that she prefers country
music.
Greg: Q27 Emiko says jazz is her favourite music. She goes to listen to jazz
every Friday evening. She also likes opera, heavy metal, classical… but jazz is
the best.
Dr Lester: Thank you, Greg. I wanted to see what you all liked so I could
understand your musical tastes more, and I want to move from this to a
discussion of the physiological effects of music.
Dr Lester: For the purposes of this discussion, I’m going to divide music roughly
It seems that music which stimulates us gives rise to actual changes in our
bodies. We listen to exciting music and our Q28 hearts beat faster, our blood
pressure rises, and our blood flows more quickly. In short, we’re stimulated.
Soothing music, however, has the opposite effect. We relax, and let the world
go by. Our heart beats more gently, our Q28 blood pressure drops, and we
feel calm. Um Alexandra, can you think of things which help us to relax?
Dr Lester: Yes, in part. The melodies which help us to relax are smooth flowing
and often have repeated rhythms. These rhythms are constant and dynamic, a
little like the crash of the sea on the beach. Their very predictability is sedating,
Q29 relaxing. By contrast very loud, discordant music with unpredictable
rhythms and structures excites and stimulates us. These two generalisations
about the differences between music which stimulates and music which
soothes are true as far as they go, but they are far from conclusive. Q31 We
still have a lot of research to do to find out what, ah, for instance, people of
different Q30 cultures hear and feel when they listen to music.
Dr Lester: Hm. I’m not surprised. What were the favourite instruments?
Alexandra: Well, Greg loves drums. He told me he played drums when he was
at primary school, and now he plays drums with his friends at weekends. They
have a band.
Alexandra: Katja is like Greg. She loves to listen to drums. She says she’s not a
player, just a listener. Rachel, as you know, is a violinist, so of course it’s
natural that she should favour the violin.
Dr Lester: Hm. So we have two people who love the sound of the drum and two
who like strings – ah, the violin for Rachel and the guitar for Alex. What does
Harry like?
Alexandra: Harry says the best instrument of them all is the piano. He claims
it’s more versatile than any other instrument. Emiko plays the piano, but her
Dr Lester: Hm. Thank you, Alexandra. Ah, Greg, will you tell us the students’
favourite style of music?
Greg: We’re really very conservative. My favourite is classical music, and that’s
Alexandra’s choice too. Katja claims to like rock.
Dr Lester: So that’s a vote from Greg, Alexandra and Katja. Doesn’t Rachel
prefer classical music?
Greg: Rachel made a choice which surprised me. She plays the violin, so I
expected classical or opera, but Rachel says that she prefers country music.
Greg: Emiko says jazz is her favourite music. She goes to listen to jazz every
Friday evening. She also likes opera, heavy metal, classical… but jazz is the
best.
Dr Lester: Thank you, Greg. I wanted to see what you all liked so I could
understand your musical tastes more, and I want to move from this to a
discussion of the physiological effects of music.
Narrator: In the second part of the discussion Dr Lester will talk about the way
music affects our bodies. Look at questions 28 to 31 first.
Dr Lester: For the purposes of this discussion, I’m going to divide music roughly
into two types: music which stimulates us and music which calms us.
It seems that music which stimulates us gives rise to actual changes in our
bodies. We listen to exciting music and our hearts beat faster, our blood
pressure rises, and our blood flows more quickly. In short, we’re stimulated.
Soothing music, however, has the opposite effect. We relax, and let the world
go by. Our heart beats more gently, our blood pressure drops, and we feel
calm. Um Alexandra, can you think of things which help us to relax?
Section 4
When Q32 the patient takes responsibilty for her or his own health – and let’s
decide the patient is male for now – men are in fact more at risk than women
anyway – when the patient takes over his own health regime he must decide
what he wants to do. The first thing, of course, is to give up the demon
nicotine. Q33 Smoking is the worst threat to health, and it’s self- inflicted
damage. I have colleagues who are reluctant to treat smokers. It you want to
stay well, stay off tobacco and smoking in all its manifestations.
Parker So now I’d like to issue a qualification to everything I say. People will still
get sick, and they’ will still need doctors. This advice is just to reduce the
incidence of sickness – it would be great if disease were preventable, but it’s
not. However, we have power. In the late 80’s the Surgeon-General of the
United States said that 53 percent of our illnesses could be avoided by
Q37 healthy lifestyle choices. I now’ want to discuss these choices with you.
You should try to make keeping fit fun! It’s very hard to go out and do
exercises by yourself, so it’s wise to find a sport that you like and play it with
other people. If you swim, you can consider scuba diving or snorkelling. If you
jog, try to find a friend to go with. If you walk, choose pretty places to walk or
have a reason for walking. Your exercise regime should be Q38 a pleasure, not
a penance.
The university is an excellent place to find other people who share sporting
interests with you, and there are many sports teams you can join. This,
unfortunately, raises the issue of sports injuries, and different sports have
characteristic injuries. As well as accidental injuries, we find repetitive strain
injuries occurring in sports where the same motion is frequently performed,
like rowing and squash.
The parallel in working life is repetitive strain injury which may be suffered by
typists or other people who perform the same action hour after hour, day after
day.
In this context, therefore, the most important thing to remember before any
sport is to warm up adequately. Do Q39 stretching exercises, and aim at all
times to increase your flexibility. Be gentle with yourself, and allow time to
prepare for the game you have chosen to play. Don’t be fooled by the term
“ Q39 warm up”, by the way. It’s every bit as important to do your warm up
exercises on a hot day as on a cool one.
I think one of the most sensible and exciting developments in the reduction of
injury is the recognition that all sports can borrow from each other. Many
sports programmes are now’ encouraging players to Q40 use cross training
techniques, that is, to borrow training techniques from other sports. Boxers
have been using cross training for years: building up stamina by doing road
work and weight training, while honing their skills and reflexes. Other sports
which require a high level of eye-hand coordination are following this trend, so
you see table tennis players running and jogging to improve their performance,
and footballers doing flexibility exercises which can help them control the ball
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better. All of these results are good, but the general sense of well-being is best,
and is accessible to us all, from trained athletes to people who will never run a
100 metres in less than 13 seconds.
Good health is not only for those who will achieve athletic greatness!
Narrator: That is the end of Section 4. Now you have some time to check your
answers.